293 days left...New Years Eve

Hey fam! So this week was Christmas. It rained really hard, we all said that it was trying to snow. haha wow,  we would have freaked out if it was snowing! it was dark for most of the day so it kind of felt like it should be cold, but when you went outside, you got nailed in the face by 110percent humidity and heat! instant tacos... so we, as the office staff, went around to some of the local areas and caroled for some of the most active members in the ward or branch. we also brought with us gifts. they hey had like 5 kilos of rice, cookies, other little goodies and some other food items. it was fun to do that, even though it was hot.. i have some pictures that i will send to you.. prolly from the office. so this last week was super duper busy preparing for the upcoming transfer week. i made all the certificates of the departing missionaries. holy cow... its a lot! its a bit trunkifying to make all those but not to bad.. ha. so this week i dont really know what to expect. i will let you know next week. but yea...  i had lots of fun talking you all! 

Well love you all.

Love Christian

Ps: shout-out to Brother and Sister Smith from California! your son is very great!!

Questions:

What is Elder Edwards position?  if he's your companion?  does he have a job in the office too?  

He is the mission recorder.

Are you going to miss Elder Dayrit?

Yea.. he is a cool guy.

How is Abigail?  Is that daughter who is sick?  I've been thinking of her alot this week.

Annabelle. She got out of the hospital the other day and is doing great! she is up walking and texting like normal.. hehe

What was your favorite food this week?  Do you ever get to eat with the president's family?

Shawarma... its like a turkish food! its like a giant roast on a vertical stick and they just shave the meat off it and put it in a wrap of sorts. its great!!!

Got any questions for me?  Did you want to add anything to our phone call that you didn't get to say?

No.. i dont think so.. oH Can you check on the status of china? as far as missionaries being assigned there? One of the Elders here said that he knows someone that got called to on a three year mission. the first year in Thailand and the second in mainland China....

I imagine people's houses on stilts that you say the front doors would break down if you knocked on them...are there ladders to get up to their house?  Or how do you do it?

Yea... they all have like a ladder or stair system that goes up to the house.

what kind of bedding is used in the philippines?  like ours? mattress pad? sheets? blankets? comforters? any need ever for blankets? 
we have a four inch mattress that i we use. then we usually have an electric fan blowing on us all night. but i have not been using one for the last month cuz ive been cold at nights.. so i just put on my ninja turtle PJs and sleep in my Malong. (its like a tube blanket, but just a sheet)

Let's have a new cebuano word this week...what shall it be?

how bout a cebuano, waray and tagalog word?? hehe

C: Tikbalang= centaur

W:Tamsy= bird

T:Shokoy=male black evil merman..  

haha (I know I'll be using Shokoy alot!)

300 days left Christmas Eve

We got a treat early this year again...He wanted to talk sooner than he said in his email.  Got to hear him talk, sing, and talk in his many languages.  Wish I could've found a video for the song...They (elders in the office) sang all the verses to Joy to the World in either Cebuano or Waray...It was sooo cool. so.

Here is his sweet but short letter, knowing we would talk soon.

hey,

this will be short as we will be talking shortly...

so i will call on my wednesday, your christmas day. do you want early in the morning or in the afternoon/evening?? maybe i will call tuesday night here so its early christmas day for you guys. so think of all the questions you can and write em down so you dont forget em! umm so just wait for my call mayber around 7 or 8 in the morning your time. i have lots of clocks here that remind me the time in utah.. so dont worry.

OK Love ya'll

Christian

Question
where will you be spending Christmas this year?

I will be in tacloban city, in the office working of hud...

Christian, has your companion transferred yet?

Not yet... he will leave next transfer cycle. in jan 3

What do you miss the most about Christmas at home?

snow, lights, food, snow, music, cold, coats, indoor soccer, etc...

307 days left

Dear mom, 
this last week was our mission tour. With Elder Neilson. he is from twin falls idaho. it was cool. he is a really nice guy. He gave us some good trainings and great advice. its pretty stressful being here making sure everything is running smoothly, picking up general authorities and driving them places.. I got my license this last week. i like driving. i havent done it for some time now... its weird. we went finding the other night and found three new investigators. hopefully, they will work out.

Im sorry this is kind of a weak letter, but i dont have any more exciting things that happened this week.

I love you all,

Love Christian

questions:

How was the tour with the area authorities this week?

It was great@

Best thing/funny that happened in the office this week?

i dont really remember anything that stood out this week.

When is your baptism date scheduled for J.?

Not yet.. he wasnt able to come to church this last week cuz he couldnt leave work.

Package yet?...you can open now the book package and whatever else you want...how do i know...it just won't be as fun on christmas...

not yet... im still waiting.. i thought it would have been here by today, maybe later this week.

314 days left

Hello Mom.
Im doing pretty good.

So update on the storm.. HOLY COW!!! it was a dud... nothing happened in our mission... in fact, some areas had sunny skies... haha we were all so disappointed.. The whole mission was totally not affected at all. it rained a bit here and there but thats it... no wind no nothin...Davao is pretty far away from us. 

so this week was our christmas conference.. My first and last. ha.. we as office elders were staff of all the activities and the programs. we missed a Lot of sleep last week. one night we stayed at the office till 2am then went home and slept till 430 then went and picked up missionaries for the program. The program went something like this. Each zone made a skit and performed it in front of the whole mission. then we had a white elephant thing...... It was ok.. i gave some wooden snakes and got some scrapbooking sticker junk... yea.... then we had a devotional program where president spoke and some elders sang... it was really fun. 
These next couple days, we have mission tour. One of the area people are coming here and giving a training . it should be good too.

we had some good lessons with our investigators.. we committed one to be baptized. He is still doing great. his name is J.

yeah.. thats about it for this week. Love you!
Love Christian

questions:

what damage was there by you? if any?

none...

what is your fav thing so far in the office?

im not sure yet... i dont love it yet..

is the office the same place as the mission home? like where does the mission president and his family live?

we are adjacent to the mission home.. about a 12 second walk away..

how many people are in the mission president's family? and their ages?

President, sister, A- 17ish.., A 12, A 14, G 9

how are you feeling? did you catch what the other missionary had?

Nope.. thank goodness... ive been eating little oranges like crazy!! they are called Kiat Kiats. they are like clementines..

i'm know i'm wishful thinking...but did you get the package yet?

not yet, hopefully tomorrow... there are like 15 they said..

are any missionaries...now doing clean up work where the typhoon went through?

nope..

being in tacloban now for a little bit...what do you miss about catarman? (i'm pretty sure you're going to say the people...but anything else? or what people specifically?)

Just the people... i miss all my investigators. Brother P, other families and a bunch of other people...

day...oh I don't know...

After hearing about the typhoon on the news last night...some of you have asked how Christian is doing.  And...I don't actually know how HE is doing.  In his letter last time he mentioned knowing that he was getting ready and making preparations for typhoon pablo (or bopha as it's called in the Philippines) so everyday since then I have tracked where the the typhoon's path was going to be.  It looks like it has not hit his island. But I think he may have had a lot of rain.

Anyhoo...in searching for this typhoon I found a very informative blog that has many live updates.  I have added it to the weather section of the side bar on the left. (right above the clock)

On a good note...when he had his earthquake before...he emailed me during the week to make I knew he was ok.  I'm going on the old saying...no news is good news.  (unless the electricity is out...)

Sad news though the island (mindanao) specifically Cateel, Davao Oriental that did get hit has lost (last count) over 500 people (with 400 more missing).  That's a lot of people.  That's a lot of families loosing someone.  Houses and businesses were washed away on the outskirts of the island.

Thanks for your concern about Christian.  I'll keep you posted should he email me.

322 days left

So... this week  In the office.

Well i started my training, its mostly just like, "elder smith do this, elder smith make the copies"... pretty great.... but, we did have two lessons this week. Our investigators are really awesome! we met with a guy named Johnathan for the second time and when we started, he said " i believe everything you guys tell me." he has come to church for two weeks in a row. this guy looks very promising. i think he will be baptized soon. anyways, im making the best out of the office, its a lot of stuff to do and huge responsibility being President Andayas personal secretary.. ive already been through mission presidency meetings and heard lots of confidential stuff.. its kinda cool being part of it all... 

One side of my throat kinda hurts, one of the Aps is sick and i think i might be getting a bit of it... but oh well.. 

There is a "super typhoon that is coming in in the next few days, we are taking every precaution and being safe. it is slowing down as it gets closer to us.. so it shouldnt be soo bad. Its called Pablo. 

Ive been lifting weights hardcore with everyone at my apartment, im getting super buff. hopefully i can keep the fat away from being in the office. The office elders have a tendency to get fat....

Well i wish all of you the best and i love you.

Love Christian

I would like to send sonny a letter. where should I send it?

just send it to me and i will send it to his ward..

Will you be calling from the mission home?

i dont think so, as mission secretary, i have my own cell phone with unlimited calls worldwide. so from my phone.

what's your companion/s like? where are they from? how long have they been out?

well one is huge and is a nerd, and loves to eat. He is a great nerdy guy. he is really nice. The other is a small super large super guapo guy from Manila. he speaks perfect english, his hobbies include speaking with an Australian accent and smelling like a boss. hahaha they are both great. the american is from Lindon. Right next to wal-mart.

so, do you think that the food is better than you thought it would be?  Have you had to "suffer" through some stuff?  

...oh yes... i have suffered through lots of stuff. every time i eat with president, i shove all the vegetables down my throat...  i still hate them all... i do have a new fruit that i love! its called Pankan. its like mandarin oranges. but the whole thing... i love them soooooo much!!!

And now, the instant questions...(love when we get to "chat" back and forth).  it's special.

when you say precautions, what exactly does that mean?

precautions, buying rope and other floating devices, buying extra food, lights ect... just planning for the worst...

do you board up the windows?

nope the windows are super strong

Since you're being trained by Elder dayrit...and your real companion is elder edwards are you all three sharing the apartment together?

its us three and the Aps.. so five of us total. soon to be 4 when Elder Dayrit leaves.  He'll transfer out the next transfer.

do all 5 of you go and do email together? laundry together? etc.?

We all five email together, we take turns with the washing machine and stuff... we kinda do laundry whenever we want cuz its easy now.. hehe

329 days left

Dear mom, so this week was transfer week. and Lo and behold, i transferred. so when i got to tacloban, i saw all the zone leaders who were transferring and thought to myself that i had a pretty good chance to become a zone leader. I was pretty excited. that last transfer in catarman was a really great one. we worked so hard. and last saturday, we had two baptisms. it was sad that i wasnt able to witness the actual baptisms but i know that its still a great thing and that i helped bring two more souls into the fold of God. They said they would send pictures for me... so hopefully they come some time soon. Anyways, i thought to myself, either zone leader, or trainer... i think i would enjoy either one... but was leaning towards a zone leader. So.... transfer meeting rolls around, im sitting by my missionary buddies, and we get our assignment envelope. inside is our area and our new companion and the assignment(DL, ZL etc...) so its just like Christmas every time i get one of those... its so exciting opening that letter. SO>... i opened it and it said something like this: Elder Smith, We thank you for your hard work and diligence in Catarman, and we know you will be blessed... just stuff like that, then lower down is the new area and assignment and new comp... so i continued to read. Your NEW area is Caibaan/Marasbaras (Tacloban city) and you will be serving as the Mission Secretary.  Your new companions are Elder Edwards and Elder Dayrit. my trainer is Elder Dayrit. im taking his place. So my official comp is Elder Edwards. Yea i was SHOCKED.... huh...??? Mission secretary??? what??? So im an office elder now. I am President Andayas Personal secretary. Some of the perks: i have a microwave, washing machine, car...yes car, air con all day, almost any food i want cuz im in tacloban city, and lots more that i cant think of... i am going to miss going out and working all day, but at least i will be able to work some times..  i will be the first to get mail too!!!!! so right when the package gets here, i will get it... so Im not really sure what else ill be doing yet, im starting training tomorrow. sooo.. ill let you know how it goes...

Love you 

Christian

OH ALSO GOOD NEWS... I CAN SKYPE HOME WITH YOU GUYS FOR CHRISTMAS!!!!!!

Did you have all your baptisms?  

they had them, but i wasnt there...

did you transfer?  Where? New companion? Where's he from?  How long's he been out?

yup... look up..

I finally got the vidyo to work, were you able to watch the puppy?  (a couple weeks ago)

yeah... i watched it like a hundred times..

Do you have a stove? or oven? or microwave?

microwave!!! and i could prolly use the oven in the mission home..

I'm sending one box tomorrow...not sure when others will be sent.  Is there anything last minute you'd like?  you good on pants?

ok and the rope things that one of dads co-workers make.... the bracelet things.... one of those.... yea... pants... i want to get some made here.. soo maybe for christmas i will do that...

In one of the pictures on josh's homecoming sign he is waist deep in water...know about that?  

yeah... it floods quite a bit here... i have only been up to ankle deep water before.. maybe in the coming year..

What's your best favorite thing this week?  

eating dinner at the mission home.. its reaaall nice..

What'd you do for thanksgiving...the actual day?

really nothing... i totally forgot about it...

335 days left

Attention: If you have not done your picture...for Christian...he's told me how to say Merry Christmas correctly!  
Its.......Maupay nga Pasko!! It's ok if you already sent one (and thanks!)  Oh and most importantly..if this is new to you I'm making a little gift for the boys.  If you want to send me a picture of yourself holding a sign that says Merry Christmas (or the above translation) Elder Smith, do it really fast.  I need to get his package sent ASAP! 

Dear mom,

This week was a pretty good one... It was a bit stressful as well. but thats the life of a missionary. Tuesday we had our zone meeting which took forever!!!! then after that, elder ostler and i went into the city so he could buy some souvineers for home and what not.. ha gosh... that can make ya trunky... hehe but its ok... wednesday, we just worked and worked and whistled while we worked.. hahaa.. thursday we made the design for our district tee-shirts. its pretty cool. friiday we were supposed to pick up the shirts, but they werent done yet... so hopefully they will be done tomorrow. saturday we went on splits with the ward missionaries in our ward.. it was cool cuz we got  8 lessons that day. Sunday, again; this sunday, was AWESOME! I was speaker, sonny was speaker, our attendance was sky high, we had 11 investigators there and several less active families we have been working with attended. It was really great. If i could choose a sunday to end on, it would be that one. 

 So this week we beat our goal from last week for lessons in a week.  we got a few more... its awesome. We are doing some great work. This week we have two baptisms. Transfers is this wednesday... the baptism is set for saturday. so if i transfer, i will miss the actual ordinance... but i think i can still count em... that should be a fun day. 

Well thats about it for this week.

Love Christian.

Questions:

when you say you lead the zone in numbers...what does that mean?  And how many are in your zone?

We have 18 missionaries in our zone. during the week we count how many lessons taught to investigators, lessons with less actives, etc... We just had the highest amount of lessons taught in  a week.

did you transfer?  where you at?  who's your companion?  where's he from? how long has he been out? oh wait...it's this coming up week huh?

this coming wednesday.

You mentioned that you got to see Sister Jinky (i think that's the coolest name!) where do you get to see them?  Would you get to see Sister Pajeda ever again?

I only got to talk to her on the phone... she is all the way in manila.... i just went by their house and she was on the phone and she wanted to talk to me...

Do you get to send home pictures this week?

not this week sorry....

How do you say Merry Christmas?

Maupay nga Pasko!!

Do you still have your pumper upper from your soccer calle ball?

ya i still have it!!!

342 days left

this week was a pretty productive week. We led the zone in numbers for the second week in a row. its pretty fun challenging the other elders and sisters to see who can do the most. This sunday, we had great success at church. we had 10 investigators come.. it was really really nice to see them all. Brother P. is sick so he wasnt able to attend. but he is still doing amazing. We shared with him last thursday and it was a really enjoyable event. We are still awaiting approval from higher authorities for his baptism. but we do have a few this next saturday. Whoo!!!

i was able to talk to Sister Jinky G. (usually I take out names but her name is sooo cool)... she went to manilla to work. Im happy to say that she is still going to church every sunday and participating in all the Relief society activities. whoo.. that makes me happpy to hear that my converts are still going strong.

Today we had a great zone activity. we went to the beach again and played beach volleyball, soccer, and a dodgeball game.. it was super fun. i found a little starfish that looks like an alien.. i  took a picture of it so hopefully next week i can send it home...

well for christmas, i want snow... ha i miss the snow and the cold. sure being warm and in sunny weather is great, but its just not me.. i need the snow. well thats about it for this week..

Love you

Christian

Questions:

Do you have your glasses?  

yup still have em..

Jensen wondered about how many discussions or contacts you have per week?

uhh... i think our missions use different lingo.... im not sure.. hahaha

Do you think it would be good for us to come pick you up?  Are there places we could stay?  or would you say we shouldn't do that? if money were no object.

well i think it would be fun.. there are nice hotels in Tacloban for very cheap... not like american nice but like a suite room here is like 2000P like 50 bucks a night... there would be lots of fun places for us to visit and stuff. but its only to bad that i couldnt be released when you come... so we could swim and stuff...

We are going to Josh Ostlers homecoming in 2 sundays...can you believe he's done almost?  He comes home on thanksgiving.  Last Sunday we called him mom to find out when he was coming home and she told us.  Is there anything you'd like to tell him when we see him?  Also Josh's mom told us that she saw him in your pictures that you sent last time.  I didn't even recognize him.  We went back and looked at all your pictures and saw him there.  She said some pretty nice things about you that Josh told her in his letters.

Me and him are really pretty close now.. i think we will hang out a lot after the mish.  yeah.. his looks have changes so much on his mission.. he looks old now.. but yeah... im excited that you get to see him.. its super weird that he is going to be able to talk to you face to face in like two weeks...

When is transfer day?

Next week!!! hopefully i transfer! i love this area and all but its always nice for new scenery.. 

349 days left

Dear mom, 
this week was a pretty good week. We took the lead in lessons taught in a week, we have a goal to hit thirty this coming week. i wonder how that number is compared to other missions, especially state side... well tuesday, we had our district meeting which i still love teaching. then wednesday was another work day. Thursday, it was a holiday  and all the banks were closing early.(12noon) so we had to wait at the bank for a loooonnngg time to get our support cuz we were out of money... they told us that support would be in by tuesday, but it wasnt. it finally came in about 4 or 5 thursday. thursday, also a tropical storm hit, and we were forbidden by president to work that evening. sad, cuz we had great appointments that night. nothing really happened, but a lot of really hard rain and yup... some more rain. hehe  friday we had our zone interviews. they were pretty great.. i am always inspired and learning how i can improve myself as a missionary and more importantly, a Deciple of Christ. i think thats one of my biggest goals, to become a "deciple". Since the talk of Elder Holland, im really trying to step it up... The training from zone interviews was all about becoming a better missionary. 

Everyday now, im looking forward to going outside and working. i dont know what changed, but for the last 6 months, i look forward to getting out and going to work... its not like i didnt before, but it seems like im only here now for me. And Jesus. Im really enjoying my work. Really enjoying the harvest every sunday. Of seeing what investigators or less active members show up to church. its really awesome. i hope all of you well, and a happy week.

I love the church. I know that its true.

I love you.

Christian

I had a question about your internets cafe...you mentioned last week that you couldn't send pictures because you were at a specific computer that wouldn't allow you to send pictures.  Is that because of the cafe itself or the computer you were at.  Are there different cafe's that you go to?  Or do you only go to one?

well at each cafe, they have different rules. at this one that we go to, it doesnt allow for me to plug in any usb item into the computer. its just the company policy. I dont like going to other internet cafes cuz they are really dirty and hot. Not just like theres dirt on the floor, but you cant open up a web page without shouting for help.... this is the cleanest one here.. its like all the other ones are Cafe Satan... ha.. for real....

Is All Souls Day the same as our Halloween?  It seemed like it fell on the same day.

its just a celebration of all the dead. its kinda like Halloween. some kids dress up... but most dont. they just all light candles. and go have picnics at the cemetery.

I'm nervous to ask about Brother P.??  Did it go through?

YUP!!!

So did you get a pet at the pet store?  

Nope... they just had fish, pigeons and guinea pigs...

It's the beginning of a new month...are ya rich now?  How is your new apartment?

we have yet to move, we don't have approval yet! its taking forever@@@

What'd you do today?

well i did all my laundry, then hung it up, then the line broke and all the clothes fell from two story's. so then i washed it again and hung it back up... now im gonna buy some groceries and other little things for this week.

What'd you do for service this week?  I loved your last service last time...you helped someone up from their bike...funnee.

uhhh... the only thing i can think of is that we went early to the house of one of our investigators and walked with them to church so they wouldnt be shy...

I love you..so so so much..hope you know that!  You are fantabulous!  translate that!  

-- higugmaon ko kam nga tanan!! I love you all!!!

Ako ay nakakita ng isang haligi ng liwanag, na tamang tama sa tapat ng aking ulo. Higit pa sa liwanag ng araw, na dahan dahang bumaba hanggang sa ito ay pumalibot sa akin. Nang tumuon ang liwanag sa akin, nakakita ako ng dalawang katauhan. na ang liwanag at kaluwalhatian ay hindi kayang maisalarawan. Nakatayo sa hangin sa itaas ko, ang isa sa kanila ay nagsalita at nagsabi, itinituro ang isa, "Joseph, ito ang aking pinakamamahal na anak, pakinggan siya!!!!"

This is one of the most powerful tools a missionary has in his belt. i love it. i have it memorized in 4 languages.(cebuano, waray,english,tagalog)

Love you. 

356 days left!

okeydokey... well this weeeek.. we had a bunch of lessons, actually, we beat the sisters in  lessons this week. pretty nice feat. uhhh district meeting as usual, wednesday thursday friday and saturday as usual, im really not remembering anything that was awesome from this week. Monday, we had a district activity. it was fun. we played pass and badminton, and 4 square, i taught that to some of the people here and other missionaries and they just love it. we played chess and then ate food... really quite a boring week filled with just working and stuff. Sunday was prolly the highlight of the week. we had 6 investigators at church, not including the 4 that usually attend. so as far as investigators go, its doing awesome. we should be having a rather big baptism sometime soon. Brother Ponce will be interviewed this friday at zone interviews and hopefully the next week will be baptized. He is such a swell guy.. Ill take some pictures of us so you can see him. but other than that, it was a normal week, no dogs, no lizards, no snakes... i am going to go to the "pet store" later today... hahaha that should be fun..

 I love you tons and look forward to next week.

LOve you!!!!!

Did the dr's ask you what your diet is?  Did they tell you what to avoid?  Are you drinking enough water?  Too much soda?  I wonder if you were here if you would've gotten them too...I wonder how long it takes to accumulate one of those stones?  I wonder if it's the diet you had here before you left? 

ya i told them that i just eat rice meat and bread. they said, ok, but drink more water... they said avoid preservatives, extra salty foods ect...

Best thing this week?

sunday. attendance was high, lots of investigators, returned members... good church day.

What are you doing for thanksgiving?  but they don't really have that holiday huh?
umm... i dunnno its gonna be my first one here... i might just buy a chicken and eat him.. thats prolly the best i can get here. or the closest i can get..
no.. they dont... they have weird hollidays here... like in a few days is All souls day. its gonna be crazy... i dont know if we will be allowed to work..

363 days left! We have hit a one year mark!!!

Dear mom,

This week was zone meeting and stake conference. Tuesday, we started the day with our zone meeting. It took forever. after that, we had choir practice. My zone was the choir for an RM reunion. We sang a song called How great will be your joy. It was pretty bad... we are not great singers.. i wish i was talented with singing.... hehe  so wednesday and thursday were pretty much normal days. Thursday, we planned to visit Brother P. We got to his house and he was outside without a shirt. Probably working on his garden. anyways, he shouted at us as he saw us and it was the wierdest thing... i dont know how to describe the way of his shout... it was as if he was drunk... so my companion and i looked at each other and said, "i hope he is not drunk".... we walked up to his door and luckily for us, he was sober. he shouted cuz he said he missed us so much. we then had our lesson and talked about conference and just kinda reviewed it. then friday, we had a buch of people over at our house. almost the whole zone slept in our apartment. it was fun. one of my batch, Elder Leutze was there. his father sent him a package for his one year. we played with the balloons and streamers... we then tried to buy some banana bread but bought the wrong kind and we were kinda disappointed.. then the APs came and slept over too. it was a big party! both the APs have been my zone leaders and im pretty close with both of them. Saturday, we worked with the APs and got soaked by the rain. sunday, we had our stake conference. President andaya and his wife spoke, also the 2nd councelor from the Cebu temple presidency came. it was nice. 

Ok.... here is the bad news... Brother P. didnt show up to stake conference. He told us he had a three day all day shift for work and couldnt leave. but at his house he told us he would be coming to church. It was a really hard day. i was really really sad that he didnt come. Especially cuz President was there and ready to interview him. So on Nov 2 President is coming back up for Zone interviews and hopefully, he will be able to make that date as well.

well Ill tell you this.. This week was a real Testimony builder for me. I prayed  and prayed for help with several people in my area, and literally less than five minutes after my prayers, they were answered. Holy cow. it is so cool when your prayer is answered almost instantaneously. I know that  God DOES answer prayers. like it says in James 1:5 ask God, and he will give to all men liberally. God will answer prayers.

well i hope you have a great week. and continue in the faith.

I love you.

Christian

I have one question about the other Elder Smith...I'm pretty sure he's wearing your clothing yeah?  

Yeah he is.. we just got back from tacloban and he didnt have a change of Pday clothes

Best thing this week?

All the investigators we asked to be baptized this week, said yes!!!! so hopefully we will be having a large baptismal service in the coming weeks. WHOOOOO!!!!

day 362 Pictures galore!!

 Dear mom, 

this last week has been pretty relaxing. i spent a few days recovering so that i can fully recouperate. i feel great now.i dont know whats going on and why im getting these dumb things...but im ok now.

so really i didnt do much this last week. i went with a future missionary to complete his dental and medical stuff... we went to the dentist and had his check up and in order to complete the required parts he has to have quite a bit of work done... the total bill is around  9000 pesos. about 200 bucks... its so cheap compared to america. he is getting a full set of prostetic teeth. so he should look pretty legit after. right now is the hard part, searching for the money to pay for it. the bishop and other members are helping a little bit, but there is still a ways to go.. but we are working hard.

all the investigators are still doing great, and Brother Ponce will be interviewed next week. i sure hope he passes. He is still coming every week. we are astounded at how many investigators that are just poring in and wanting to be baptized. i love it here.

By the way, i didnt transfer, so im still here in catarman. :) we have zone meeting tomorrow, im kinda excited for that. it should be fun.

Well thats about all for this week.

Love you

Christian

Question:

I forgot to ask last week...did you get ana's package?

Yea!!!! i got it. I love it soooo much!! i wore the jersey and like a hundred people asked me to trade shirts with them!!! i love it.

I love the service questions:  so I'll ask again...Favorite service moment this week?

some guy dropped his bike and i picked it up for him.. :) hehe

How're your investigators coming along?

They are doing swell!!! we should have a largish baptism sometime soon. im super excited.

What's the plan now stan?  are you being transferred to tacloban? closer to the medical facilites?  

still here in catarman.

What did the dr's find out?  Were/are they able to "melt" the stones?

Well i peed it out in the hospital, and they kidney infection is now healed. so yea im all good now. The stone was huge!!!!!

Best thing about your companion in catarman? or if you have a new comp if you're in tacloban

ummm... he is really funny. he is kinda fruity too... he makes me laugh and is a really nice guy.

(Enjoy...It's a treat getting all these pictures from him!!! )

the food was a zone activity, its noodles with rice and fish

 the girls was at a ward activity, as soon as i pulled out my camera, everyone wanted to take a pic with me.

 The chicken is GIANT... like its the biggest chicken ive ever seen. holy cow...

 Then my socks... they all got ruined in the wash.. hehee

 This is my food stock... were Broke hehehe.

the other is us cutting the grass.

the other one is Elder Smith. he is from california. hes new in the zone.

 then we are eating sugar cane. All the penos say, "look at the americans chewing wood.

Then a little frog that i caught. in the grass

This is the frog.. just a better view.

  this is some of our zone at the Cutting grass project.

 the next one is traffic. its pretty great here. 

 The next is Lechon Baboy. or a BBq pig.. yumm.. from Bishops 2yr old daughters bday party. and the cake for her... nice huh..

day 355

soo.... this week has been kinda hectic...tuesday wednesday and thursday, we devoted a lot of time to just "tracting" we really are no good at it, mostly cuz we just started... but we have given out tons of BOMs and have lots of return appointments. it kinda funny, cuz no matter what, the hospitality of these people is grand. they let us in at almost every door. or at least hear us out. so its kind of nice and relaxed. Occasionally  we will get someone who absolutely hates god and just wants to bash us in the face with worldy garbage. such as the big bang theory... 

Friday.... i woke up and boom... i started feeling terrible again. then i started throwing up because of the pain... so i knew exactly what is was... more kidney stones... i went into the hospital at around 9am. they told me that i had an infection and giant stones. this time in my right kidney. so i just got out of the hospital today and sister and president want me to go to tacloban tomorrow... i might transfer too.. cuz ive been here for 4.5 months. so we will see where the wind blows... im ok so no worries, i will have more tests done in tacloban and actually get the stones measured. they dont have the technology for that here...hehe

On a good note, we contacted a family, and gave them the first lesson, and they all wanted to come to church..SWEET.. also we are visiting a family that has been inactive for 12 years.. they are coming back to church.. its so exciting. this area is great. i love it. Our other investigators are still doing great. 

The sisters in my district had a baptismal candidate ready for an interview. so it was set for wednesday at 10 30.. so the sisters called at 930 and said "hey, uhhh our candidate(jean) just got threatened  that if she goes to the interview, her best friend(fish face) is going to hate her..." so they tried to to call her and couldn't get a hold of her.. so they thought that she wasn't going to baptized because of this. so i just went to the church and waited for them. then while we were waiting, jean walked by, randomly and out of the blue, then we ran out and grabbed her before she could leave. then the sisters came and talked to her for like an hour. then we finally had our interview... so the girl(fish face) who was going to hate her has a crush on me... so she thought that by jean going to this interview, she would steal me away from her(fish face)... so to satans dismay, she was baptized on saturday. Hooray Team LDS

 

Well thats about it for this week. ill keep you updated on conditions and hud.. I love you. 

Love Christian 

Questions:

Did you get to watch any of  the sessions?  Or the better question is when do you get to watch them?  

we get to watch them this weekend.

Did you get any letters from any little people?  Like the Bayless'?

Not yet...

Did you get that ipod thingy?

Ya its really cool!!

Favorite service moment this week...

uhhmmmm... im helping people here in my ward fill out there mission papers and get all the dental  and medical stuff taken care of! its fun! 

Had any weird food yet?

i ate pancit canton with liver. like ramen noodles with no soup. LIVER IS GROSSSSS!!!!

Ana I forgot to ask him about the package....sorry 

day 348

Hello folks of P-town. or anywhere else you are.

This week was pretty cool. on tuesday we went to tacloban for Zone Conference. it sucked. i hate the vans now... i almost puked like 199 times. so we got to tacloban and i just felt sick all day. then wednesday was no different. i was feeling car sick all day. then it was time to go home. wednesday night we left at 7pm and took the bus this time. SO MUCH BETTER!!!!! we got home at 2am but i felt great! i dont care that its longer, i just care that i dont get sick... it was basically like a school bus but Ghetto-er... then thursday we collected pictures from all the RMs in our area for a fireside on the 19th. then friday we worked and got some referrals and contacted them. one is a lesbian(tomboy in pilipino) and one is a madre... she is like a nun... she went to italy for 5 years for her study and what not. but she gave that up and has been coming to church. its great.  Brother P. is still doing great. he is awesome...

So we are moving...we are waiting approval on our new apartment, but we should be able to leave later today or tomorrow. Our apt. now is awful. the water and electric bills are soooooo expensive... like 25 bucks!!! hahaha that's sooo expensive here. haha... so we cant afford to live here... we found a new home with free water but we still pay electric. also its a lot nicer place too. 

Sunday we had 4 investigators at church. its awesome... also we visited a sister who is in active. she is a member but her late husband wasn't  she is only about 30 and has 3 kids. she told us that she keeps seeing her husband even though he is dead... like little visions.. we told her that she needs to do his temple work. she was like... You're right elders... so she is going to start coming to church and preparing for the temple trip.

also, we had a family who has been inactive come to church yesterday cuz the wife woke up and had a scary dream and said, we're going to church tomorrow. so they did their laundry at 3 in the morning so they could make it on time. it was really cool.

today i'm getting a haircut.

that's about it for this week in the Pines...

Love you

Christian

Adi says hi.  He is chewing a new bone that dad got him yesterday.

Hello back!

Questions:

Congratulations on feeling your first earthquake, I don't know if I've ever felt one or if I have just tiny tremors from a far away city.  What was the number?  do you know?

it was so small.. not over a 3 for sure...

You said that you had a spicy tuna fish sandwich.  How do you spice it up?

Chili corned tuna mom... hot tuna in a can :)  (Iuhh I don't get it)

I guess you got Ana's package?

Nope... it wasnt there.... maybe tomorrow or wednesday cuz the ZLs went to tacloban for ZLC

Did you ever buy anything with your kwarta?

Im going to on Wednesday. i was gonna buy it today, but they sold it... its a little ipod thing... its pretty cool

Did I say happy birthday correctly in my last email?  Malipayon Adlawan

.....they really dont have "happy birthday" in this language... they just say happy birthday... that is just a direct translation of "happy day of birth"... 

Did you get a cake? or brownies? or candles? or anything?  

Nope...OH... elder ostler bought ice cream after district meeting... it was swell.

day 341 Happy Birthday!

hello family! This week was Ok. Nothing really special nothing really terrible. Sometimes my weeks are just routine. Maybe to spice up my weeks, ill just dance to all my apointments. Like when someone tells me to eat poop, ill just break into a dougie or something. hahaha. 

this week we visited one family many times to try and get them back to the church. No luck. they just cant get out of their house. Our investigators are still doing ok. Brother p. is going to be interviewed by president at stake conference in a few weeks. im excited and hope he passes. He told us about his experience as Commander Roy, of the NPA. he said the only laws of the jungle are the ten commandments. everything else goes. kinda crazy.

Yesterday, we saw the news and there is a hurricane thats hitting us right now. it has been raining non stop for many days now. also, Yesterday, was my first EaRthQUakE!!!! IT was so soooo cool. i was sitting on my bed and everything just started shaking really bad and there was this noise that sounded like everyone was going to die! haha it was a scary noise. perhaps more scary than the actual earthquake. hehe. well after it stopped i jumped up and grabbed my shoes and ran to elder villanueva who was laying down, and said. Elder lets go! He then said... That was tiny!!! go back to what you were doing... hahaha i had no idea what to compare it to so i assumed it was a big one. well i went around telling all the other missionaries that i felt my first earthquake. i felt cool. hahaa also its been a brown out for a day and a half. its impossible to sleep in a brown out. jeez...

well for my birthday, i took a snooze this morning. then ate a tuna spicy sandwhich. then i went birthday shopping. didnt buy anything cuz im gooing to tacloban tomorrow. for zone conference. maybe something better will be waiting for me there.

well thats about it for this week. 

Love you all!\

Christian

Questions:

What is something you struggle with now that you're dl?

Uhhh....finding is still super hard. like tracting. ive never done it before and now the focus of the mission is changing so we are like going crazy in tracting.

Do you remember the Nauvoo temple dedication?  We went to the stake center and had white handkerchiefs...

I remember waiving things around, i thought it was cuz someone died. haha

Are you celebrating your bday special?  Do any members know?  Does your companion know?  Are you going to burn a shirt?  We put some mula on your card last week for your bday.  Hope you didn't have use it all for travelling.  Tell me what you did to celebrate..prolly just move and wash huh?

Not really. its really hard to celebrate when its just two... i dont think i will burn a shirt. i need all of em hahaha. i have yet to do laundry. so thats prolly what ill be doing for the rest of the day. Thanks for the kwarta!!!

Have you gotten Ana's package yet?

Not yet, im going to tacloban tomorrow so hopefully it will be there.

Can you send me any pictures?

sorry,.. not today. when its brown out we can only go to the internet places that have genorators, and this one wont let me use a usb...

Do you feel old?

-- i feel way old!!! what the heck!! i feel like i could kick the bucket any day now...hehehe